Student Life

Events that students attend or participate in while in the program.

Student Life

Recent plant visits

Please click on the .pdf files below to view photos from recent plant visits of the Master of Manufacturing Management (MMM) program.

Trip to Medrad (.pdf 35Kb)
Trip to Toyota (.pdf 147Kb)
Trip to Joy Mining (.pdf 72Kb)

Please use Adobe Acrobat to view all .pdf documents.


	Spring Team Building On January 18, 2008 the Master of Manufacturing Management (MMM) degree program students participated in an all day Team Building. MMM faculty member Ron Johnson took all the new spring MMM teams through a team simulation first developed at MIT. The goal was to take very simple materials (cups, straws, paper) and create a package to support an egg in a free fall drop from 10 feet. During this process students had to work with the materials to build prototypes, assess the varying costs of materials, create/deliver a marketing presentation, and have their prototypes tested. Teams were scored on all elements with the winning team taking home many fabulous prizes. Additionally, the teams experienced ice breakers, spent time getting to know team members and began to develop team charters. The purpose -" to get teams started well-" accomplished.
	International Potluck Dinner The MMM degree program has a student body rich in diversity. Dr. Russell Barton opened his home to the MMM students and faculty to gather for dinner. Various foods from different nationalities were prepared by students and faculty to share with everyone. After dinner, they gathered around the foosball table for a little round of play.
	Fall Plant Visits MMM students and faculty visited 7 plants on October 18-19, 2007. They visited Lutron Electronics Company (Coopersburg, Pennsylvania), Yuengling (Pottsville, Pennsylvania), Procter & Gamble (Mehoopany, Pennsylvania), and Corning Incorporated (Painted Post, New York). The group visited Lutron’s Experience Center which is decorated and designed to showcase Lutron’s very best in electric lighting and electronic shading systems. They also visited two of the facilities that manufacture lighting controls and surface mount technology. Yuengling provided their historical tour of the old brewery as seen in the picture above. They have a new facility near Pottsville and bought a brewery in Tampa, Florida. Procter & Gamble showed them their highly automated facility that processes and handles paper products, Pampers, etc. Their two day tour ended with a visit to Corning, Inc.’s Sullivan Park Research Facility which has leading-edge research in display technologies, telecommunications, environmental technologies, and life sciences. And a tour of their new Diesel Manufacturing Plant which produces ceramic substrate and filter products for diesel engines.
	Start of the Year Team Building MMM students were involved in orientation activities that provided the opportunity to get to know one another very quickly. At the Krislund Camp in the mountains of Madisonburg, Pennsylvania, the students joined in 10 problem-solving group games that required communication, cooperation, trust, and strategies with minimal resources. Self-esteem and team development is enhanced by these activities which stress personal challenge and success. The students were also welcomed to the MMM program with presentations by Alex Weaver (MMM Class of 2004), Thomas Medical Products, and Alex Fried, Procter and Gamble.
	MMM Students Present Product Ideas to Elmer's Five MMM student teams in the two-semester "Design Principles for Manufacturing" course collaborated with Elmer's Products, Inc. and developed products as if they were employees of Elmer's. On May 1, 2007 the teams pitched their products—including marketing plans, investment opportunities, manufacturing logistics, prototypes, and environmental and legal considerations—to representatives from Elmer's and other business, manufacturing, and management experts. Elmer's awarded $400 to each member of the first-place team and each member of the second and third place teams were awarded $100. Read more...
	Spring Plant Visits MMM students and faculty visited seven plants in 2.5 days. They visited Yuengling (Pottsville, Pennsylvania), B Braun, Kraft, and Honeywell (Allentown, Pennsylvania), Anheuser Busch (Newark, New Jersey), WL Gore (Elkton, Maryland), and General Motors (Wilmington, Delaware). Some of the many opportunities they received at these manufacturing plants were visits to a barrel filling room and the tap room, an explanation of the beer fermentation process, exposure to the extrusion operation for medical tubing, and the manufacturing of a hernia repair product.
	Industrial and Alumni Advisory Board Reception and Meeting MMM students and members of the MMM Industrial and Alumni Advisory Board began a two-day meeting on November 1, 2006 with an evening of socializing and networking at the Nittany Lion Inn and adjourned at Mad Mex. The evening allowed the three groups to interact on a more social level. The following day, the MMM students met with the Alumni Advisory Board (AAB) to hold discussions concerning student issues and/or concerns that the AAB could later address, discuss, and share with the co-directors. These interactions also provided career opportunities for the students.
	MMM Students Attend Advanced Manufacturing Forum MMM students recently participated in a professional forum which provides a setting for intensive discussion and idea exchange among managers who are introducing technological and organizational innovations. On November 2-3, 2006, students had the opportunity to interact and listen to presentations by representatives from Arvin Meritor, Kennametal, Inc., Rockwell Automation Power Systems, and United Defense. The theme of the forum was Lean Production and the Lean Office: Best Practices for Both. Arvin Meritor presented “Journey to Lean,” Kennametal presented Implementing and Sustaining Better Practices,” Rockwell Automation Power Systems presented "The Power Lean Solution,” and United Defense presented "War on Waste.”
	Fall Plant Visits On October 19-20, 2006, MMM students and faculty were exposed to manufacturing processes by visiting Sunbury Textile Mills, ALCOA, and Xerox Corporation. The group received a personalized tour of each facility and met with management teams at each site. Sunbury Textile Mills (Sunbury, Pennsylvania) exposed them to the weaving of decorative fabrics and performance fabrics for luxury homes, hospitality and healthcare institutions, flags and banners, corporate logos, etc. ALCOA Engineered Products Group (Cressona, Pennsylvania) is the largest common alloy extrusion plant in North America and exposed the group to casting, extrusion, die shop, fabrication (machining, sawing, punching, drilling, welding, etc.), packing, loading, and shipping. Xerox Corporation (Webster, New York) – gave the group a tour of three different areas; Gil Hatch Center for Customer Innovation, iGEN3 Factory, and Xerographic and Image Quality Lab. The iGEN3 is the primary product assembled at Webster and is the fastest and biggest digital full color printer on the market.
	New Product Development (NPD) Initiative with Elmer's, Inc. The two-semester "Design Principles for Manufacturing" course in the MMM program currently has five MMM student teams following the Stage-Gate NPD process (promoted by Cooper) in collaboration with Elmer's, Inc. The products are being designed to have a strategic fit with Elmer's marketing segments of art, education, and office products. On December 12, 2006, the teams will make class presentations of the business case for their products to an Elmer's marketing manager.